top of page
Search

When Food Labels Lie: A Vegan's Guide to Spotting Hidden Animal Ingredients

  • Writer: Emanuele Bortolotto
    Emanuele Bortolotto
  • Jul 27
  • 7 min read

Updated: Aug 20

It’s nearly midnight on a Saturday night here in Helsinki. I don't have a social life, so here I am writing. It’s that magical hour when questionable life choices are often made, usually involving a late-night takeaway or drinking ungodly amounts of Pineapple Lonkero. I was thinking about this, about the simple joy of a greasy snack, and my mind drifted to a particular kind of modern horror story I’ve heard many times. It’s the story of the happy, confident vegan who, after years of diligence, discovers that their favorite, seemingly innocent snack food—the one they’ve been eating for years—has secretly contained a weird animal part the whole time. 😱


It’s a moment of pure, unadulterated betrayal. A feeling that the food labels are not just unhelpful; they are actively lying to you. This experience, I’ve discovered, is a rite of passage for almost everyone who adopts a vegan lifestyle. The world, it turns out, is full of hidden, and often quite disgusting, animal ingredients, lurking in the fine print of our favorite foods.

As an investigator, I love a good mystery. And the modern ingredient list is one of the most baffling mysteries of all. So today, I’m putting on my detective hat 🕵️‍♂️ and my reading glasses. We are going on a deep dive into the murky underworld of food production to create the ultimate field guide to spotting these hidden animal ingredients.


The Label Detective: Why You Must Read the Fine Print


Before we get into our rogues' gallery of ingredients, I think it’s important to understand why this is so difficult. Food labels are not designed to be helpful; they are designed to be legally compliant while being as confusing as possible.

The first crucial skill for our investigation is learning to differentiate between the ingredients list and the allergen warning.

  • The Ingredients List: This is the legally mandated list of what is intentionally in the product, listed in descending order by weight. This is your primary source of truth.

  • The Allergen Warning (e.g., "May contain traces of milk, nuts, and existential dread"): This is a legal disclaimer, not an ingredient list. It means the product was made in a factory that also handles those allergens. For most vegans, a "may contain" warning is not a deal-breaker, as they are not intentionally paying for animal products. The issue is cross-contamination, not an ingredient.

I spent a week of my life reading about these ingredients in detail, and now I can't look at a gummy sweet without having an existential crisis. I told my friend that this investigation has ruined my ability to enjoy snacks, and he just nodded sympathetically while slowly hiding his bag of salt and vinegar crisps. It's a dangerous world out there.


The Rogues' Gallery: A Category-by-Category Investigation


Now, let's meet the suspects. I have grouped these sneaky ingredients by their origin, like a criminal database.


The Dairy Derivatives: The Milky Mafia 🥛


These are proteins and sugars derived from cow's milk, and they have an incredible ability to infiltrate products you would never suspect.

  • Whey: This is the watery liquid left over after milk has been curdled and strained in the cheesemaking process. It’s a cheap bulking agent and protein booster.

    • Where it Hides: Protein bars, bread, baked goods, and, most notoriously, many brands of salt and vinegar and cheese-flavored crisps. It gives them a certain tangy, creamy quality.

  • Casein: This is the main protein found in milk. It’s the solid curds that are used to make cheese. In its powdered form, sodium caseinate, it’s used as a binder and whitener.

    • Where it Hides: Some "non-dairy" coffee creamers and "lactose-free" cheeses (which are not vegan!), protein powders, and baked goods.

  • Lactose: The sugar found in milk. It's often used to give products a creamy texture and mouthfeel.

    • Where it Hides: Some crisps, medicines, and even some beers (milk stouts).


The Insect Ingredients: The Bug Files 🐞


This is the category that, in my opinion, has the highest "ick" factor.

  • Carmine (or Cochineal, E120): This is a very common red food dye. It is made from crushed and boiled cochineal insects, a type of beetle. It takes about 70,000 dead insects to produce one pound of this dye.

    • Where it Hides: Red-colored sweets and candies, yogurts, ice creams, and some fruit juices (like ruby red grapefruit juice). Your strawberry yogurt might just be a tiny, delicious beetle graveyard. Enjoy that thought.

  • Shellac (or Confectioner's Glaze, E904): This is a resin secreted by the female lac bug. It is scraped from the trees where the bugs leave it and is used to give products a shiny, protective coating.

    • Where it Hides: Gummy sweets, shiny hard candies (like jelly beans), and sometimes used to coat apples to make them look glossy. ✨

  • Beeswax (E901): Often used as a coating or a component in natural flavorings.

    • Where it Hides: Some sweets and as a coating for certain fruits and vegetables to preserve freshness.


The Fishy Friends: The Underwater Intruders 🐠


These are ingredients derived from fish that often show up in unexpected places.

  • Isinglass: This is a type of gelatin obtained from the dried swim bladders of fish. It is used as a "fining" agent to clarify some traditional beers and wines, particularly British ales. It clumps together with the yeast particles and sinks to the bottom of the vat, making the final drink look clearer. You are, in essence, filtering your pint through fish guts. 🍻

  • Anchovies: These tiny, salty fish are the secret ingredient in many savory sauces.

    • Where it Hides: The most famous culprit is Worcestershire sauce. It’s also a traditional ingredient in many Caesar salad dressings and some tapenades.


The Wobbly Bits: Gelatin (The Connective Tissue Crew)


This is one of the most common animal products to look out for, especially in desserts and sweets.

  • What it is: Gelatin is a protein obtained by boiling the skin, tendons, ligaments, and/or bones of cows and pigs.

  • Where it Hides: Marshmallows (this is what gives them their unique texture), gummy bears and other gummy sweets, Jell-O, some yogurts, frosted cereals, and in the capsules of many medications. It’s the wobbly ghost of a farm animal. 👻


The "Natural Flavors" Black Box: What Are They Hiding?


This, my friends, is the most frustrating and mysterious part of any ingredient list. "Natural Flavors." It sounds so wholesome, so harmless. But in my investigation, I found that this term is a legal "black box." It can refer to almost anything, as long as it's derived from a natural source—be it a plant, a fungus, or an animal.

While most natural flavors are plant-derived, some are not. And companies are not required to specify the source. The most famous, and admittedly now very rare, example is castoreum.

  • Castoreum: This is a secretion from the castor sacs of beavers, located near their anus. It has a surprisingly pleasant, vanilla-like scent and has been used historically as a "natural flavoring" for vanilla and raspberry products. 🦫

While you are very unlikely to be eating beaver-butt juice in your vanilla ice cream today (it’s too expensive to harvest), it’s a perfect example of the kind of weirdness that can legally hide behind the term "natural flavors." The only way to know for sure if a product's "natural flavors" are vegan is to contact the company directly.


Questions from the Internet: "Okay, but is 'lactic acid' vegan?"


This is a classic point of confusion. Despite its name, yes, lactic acid is almost always vegan. The name is misleading because it was first discovered in milk. However, today, it is commercially produced through the fermentation of plant-based sugars from sources like corn or beets. It has nothing to do with dairy. The same is true for lactate and calcium lactate.


Questions from the Internet: "What's the difference between a 'Vegan' certification and a 'Plant-Based' one on a package?"


This is a great question, as the packaging is getting more confusing.

  • Certified Vegan Logo: Look for a trusted, official logo (like The Vegan Society's sunflower 🌻 or the Vegan Action/Vegan Awareness Foundation's "Certified Vegan" heart). This is a third-party certification. It means the organization has independently verified that the product contains no animal ingredients and was not tested on animals. This is your highest level of assurance.

  • "Plant-Based" Claim: This is often just a marketing term used by the company itself. It is not regulated. While it usually means the product is vegan, I have seen products labeled "plant-based" that still contain milk or eggs in the ingredient list (especially in the "plant-forward" space). You must still read the fine print.


Questions from the Internet: "This is exhausting. Is there an app for this?"


Yes! Thankfully, technology has come to the rescue. There are several apps, like Is It Vegan? and Vegan Pocket, that allow you to simply scan the barcode of a product. The app will then cross-reference the ingredient list with its database of animal-derived substances and give you a quick "yes" or "no." It’s not foolproof, but it can make a trip to the supermarket significantly less of a soul-crushing detective novel. ✅


Internal Link Break!


The entire reason for this exhausting detective work is rooted in the deep ethical philosophy of veganism. It’s a commitment to reducing harm that extends to every corner of your life. To understand the "why" that drives someone to care about beetle juice in their yogurt, you must read my full investigation: [What Is Ethical Veganism?]


The Conclusion: A Conscious Consumer


So, after this deep dive into the treacherous world of ingredient lists, what have I learned? I've learned that our modern food system is a complex and often opaque machine, full of strange byproducts and hidden components. And becoming a vegan requires you to become a more conscious, more critical, and far more knowledgeable consumer.

Reading labels is a non-negotiable skill. It is, in essence, the daily practice of the vegan philosophy. It is a small act of vigilance, a quiet moment of asking, "What is this, and where did it come from?" It can feel like a burden, but it is also an act of empowerment. It is the power to know exactly what you are putting into your body and to make choices that align perfectly with your values.

Of course, even when all the ingredients are technically vegan, a diet of processed foods can still be a problem for your health. For a broader look at that side of the story, check out my investigation: [Can a Vegan Diet Be Unhealthy?].


Sources


Recent Posts

See All

Comments

© 2020 Copyright Emanuele Bortolotto

bottom of page